Variable-speed mechanism.



R. K. LE BLOND & w. F. GROENE. VARIABLE SPEED MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 12, 1913.

Patehted Feb. 8, 1916.

[ I midi/a1? amaze.

UNITED strA'r s PATENT OFFICE.

Brennan 1%. LE Brion!) AND WILLIAM F.-.GRQENE, oE'cmomN rrI, omo,- AssIe1voRs 10 THEIR. K. LE BLOND MACHINE TOOL COMPANY. 03 CINCINNATI, OHIO, A 00320- RATION OF OHIO.

invented certain new and useful I1nprove-.

ments in Yariable-Speed Mechanism, of which the following 1s a full, clear, and

- exact specification. v I

T1115 invention relates to variable speed mechanism, especlally designed for milling machines, and has fo'rits object to provide a simple and compact system of gearing ca 'pa'ble of giving a spindle many changes of speed, which, in the present case may be sixteen or more.

Special objects are to simplify the con-' struction and manner of operating the mechanism for changin from the open drives to the back gear drives, and to position the back gear shaftand its gears so that they will require-very little enlargement of the casing to include them, aswell as allow for an extremely simple but efficient device 'being'employed' for making the change mentioned. a

Theinvention Will befir'st described in connection with the accompanying ,drawings, whiclrconstitute a part of this" specification, and then set forth with more particularity in the claims at the end of the description.

In the accompanying drawings, in which; similar reference characters are used to in-.

dicate the same parts in all the views: Fig

ure 1 is a front elevation'of the casing for a variable speed mechanism constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the driving shaft, back gear shaft and spindle,

the intermediate shaft'being shown in elevation; Fig. 3 is a detail vertical cross section showing the means for operating the spool which controls the friction clutch for locking the driving pulley to the driving shaft, orfor releasing said clutch and lockin}; said driving shaftv against turning Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section further illustrating the shifting means just mentioned, and also showing the'means for shifting the cluster gears on-the driving shaft; Fig. 5 is a detail vertical cross section further illustrating said means for; shifting the cluster gears Fig. 6 is a detail vertical cross section showing themeans for shifting thedouble VARIABLE-SPEED MECHANISM.

' Specification of letters I'atent.

Patented Feb. 8,1916.

application filed. April 12,1913. Serial No. 760,671.

spool on thespindle; Fig. 7 is a detail verticallcrosssection illustrating the means for changing fronr the openf drives to the back gear drives: Fig, S is a diagrammatic front elevation of the interrupted gears and segments in the'positions they occupy when the drive is through the back Suitably journaled in thecasing A are the driving shaftB,spindle C, intermediate shaft D, and back gear shaft Epthe latter being positioned atthe end of the driving shaft in order to economize space. The driving shaftcarries on its outer end a loose pulley F having a flange 7 inclosing a fric-' tion clutch f which is expanded to lock the pulley to'the shaft by a plunger 9 longitudinally movable in the hollow driving shaft and attached to a spool G'by a pin 9. Said pin works in a longitudinal slot in the driving shaft. Said spool is bored taper-- ing, as at 9 onv the side opposite from the pulley, and is adapted to form a brake on the tapered end 71. of afixed bushing 1-1 when the spool is moved in the direction to release the friction clutch.

Inasmuch as the clutch itself does not constitute a part of this invention,flit is unnecessary to describe its construction in detail. It-will suffice to say that the expansion of said clutch to lock the pulley to the shaft is effected by the tapered'endg of the plunger g entering between and forcing apart two pins f (one of whichisshown in Fig. 2). extending radially through to the interior of the shaft, when said plunger is moved outward by shifting the spool G' in that direction. When the spool. is moved in the opposite direction the clutch is rethe groove 0 in said spool. The other end of the lever may be formed with a segmental rack g which meshes with rack teeth 5 on a slide 1" having other rack teeth 1' meshing with a pinion i on a vertical stud t carrying a hand lever I.

T he driving shaft 13 carries three cluster gears I). I1 and b splinedthereon, and alsoa separate loose'gear 6 which is suitably retalned against sliding on the shaft. The gears I), I) and I)? are adapted to selectlvely I mesh with gears (Z. (Z' and (Z on the intermeshing gears b and (l, I) and d, b and (Z or b and (Z the latter when the clutch members b and b are in engagement for turning the cluster gears with said gear 6 The shifting mechanism for the cluster gears, as illustrated in Figs. i and 5, may consist of a slide-k splined to a rod k and having a yoke It? engaging the groove 6 in the cluster gear casting Z), see Fig. 2. Said slide also has a horizontally extending plate it having rack teethk on its under face meshing with a pinion k on a js'tud 70 to which is fixed a crank K. The plate 10 and rack 71- are made long enough to allow for the four adjustments of. the cluster gears.

The gears (l and d are fast on a sleeve d, Figs. 2 and 11; which sleeve may be keyed to the intermediate shaft D. :The gears d and d are on another sleeve (i also keyed to said intermediate shaft. Said sleeves OZ and a? may be separated. by a collar d. The gear (1, on the sleeve (Z is constantly in mesh with a gear 0 loose on a sleeve 0 which is itself, mounted loose around the spindle C. The sleeve d has a third gear 03 which is constantly in mesh with a gear 0 also loose on the sleeve 0'. The facing sides of the gears o and 0 have clutch members 0 and 0 respectively.) Corresponding clutch members j and j are carried by opposite ends of a spool J splined to the-sleeve c between the gears c and .0 While the clutch members 0 0 7' and j, as shown, are of the positive jaw type, it will be understood that friction clutch members will answer just as well. The shifting of said spools so as to bring one of its clutch members into" operative engagement with the clutch member of one of said gears 0 or 0 ,will cause theselected Thus two speeds may be transmitted to the sleeve 0 from the intermediate shaft, making eight speeds from the driving shaft to said sleeve.

"The shifting mechanism for the spool J,

' if preferred.

thereto a large gear M which is adapted to mesh with a small gear 6 splined upon the hub e of a large gear 6 loose on the back gear shaft E, see'Fig. 2. The back gear 6 is constantly in mesh with a small gear N splined on the sleeve 0' and preferably overlapping the hub m of the gear M. Said gears'M and N have supplemental clutch members m and n which may brought into operative engagement by shifting the gear These clutch members at and n, as shown are of the positive aw type, but friction clutch members may be used instead It is obvious that when said clutch members are in operative engagement and the gear e is out of mesh with the gear M thesleeve 0' will be connected directly to the spindle for the open drives of which there are eight as already explained. On the other hand, when theclutch members m and n are out of engagement and the gear 6 is in mesh with the gear M, as shown in Fig. 2, the spindle is driven indirectly through the back gears as shown in Fig. 2, making eight additional speeds known as the back gear drives, and thus giving sixteen changes of speed altogether.

Now'it is clear that in making a change from the open to the f back gear drives, or vice versa, it is necessary. to move the gear 6 out of mesh with the gear M before the clutch member 12/ is moved into engagement with the clutch member m, or'said clutch members must be separated before the gear 6 is moved inteemeshwith-the gear M. WVe

have provided means for accomplishing these two operations in the proper order by simply turning a crank Pon the front of the casing A in one direction to change from the open to the back gear drives, and in the opposite direction to effect the reverse change.

One appropriate form of this improved means as illustrated in Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10, consists of two interrupted gears 32 and p fixed on the stud 77 of thecrank P, and two shifting devices, havingarms R and S, respectively, on the free ends of which are interrupted segmental racks 1' and s, meshing, respectively with the interrupted gears p and 39 The arm R, having the segmental rack 1', is attached to a stud 1* carrying an arm 7 at its other end. Said arm 9*? has a shoe 7' engaging the groove n in the carrier or sleeve n of the gear N. The arm S, having the segmental rack s, is fixed 1 on a stud s carrying-an arm 8 on which is tion of the gear p is engaged with the groove 1* in the segment 1', thereby holding the arm R stationary and in position to keep the clutch member n away from the clutch member m, while the teeth of the interrupted gear 12 are in mesh with the teeth of the segment 8, so as to hold the gear 6 in mesh with the gear M. Now if the stud p carrying the interrupted gears 19 and 72 is turned by moving the crank P in one direction or clockwise in the present instance, the teeth of the gear 12 will travel in the teeth ofthe segment 8 causing the arm S to swing, the stud s to turn, andthearm s to swing, thereby moving the gear 6 out of mesh with the gear M By the time this is accomplished, the smooth portion of said gear p will have reached the groove .9 in

the segment '8, so that a continued rotarymovement of said gear in the-same direction will not affect the arm S. During this rotation of the gear the gear p has also been turning, its smooth portion simply slipping around in the groove 1' without effecting any movement of the arm B. When the v smooth portion of the gear 17 has reached the groove 8 in the segment 8, however, the teeth of the gear 37 will have reached the teeth of the segmentrso that further rotary movement of said gear in the same direction will swing the arm R- causingthe stud 1" to turn and the arm 1' to swing,

thereby shifting the gear sleeve. or carrler' 01, until the clutch member n carried thereby engages the clutch member m on thegear M. The result of this operation, that is, the turning of the crank P clockwise, is

therefore to change from a back gear? drive as shown in'Fig. 2, to an.0pen drive: A reverse or counter-clockwise movement of said crank will, of course, bring about the pletely disengage the clutch member n from. the, clutch member m and the ear 6 then moved into mesh with the gear l1.

. By referring to Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and tracing the operations ofthe levers P,

L and K thereon, it will be observedthat movement of any one of said levers; in one direction will have the efiect ofincreasing the speed of the spindle, whereas a movement of any one of said levers in the opposite direction will have the opposite effect, that is, reduce, the speed of thesplndle.

venience, inasmuch as the operator can always rely upon the same rule in moving any This fact is of great importance and conof the levers,instead of having to remember perhaps that each lever works diflerently from the next.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination, with a spindle, of a sleeve loose thereon, means to turn the sleeve, a gear splined on the sleeve and havmg a clutch member, a gear fast on the spindle and. having a supplemental clutch I member, a back gear meshing with the gear on the sleeve, another back gear mounted to turn with the first back gear and meshing with the gear on the spindle, and means for first moving. the second back gear out of mesh with the gear on the spindle and then sliding-"the gear on the sleeve to bring its clutch member, intooperative engagement with the clutch member on the spindle, and vicev versa. 4

2. The combination with a spindle, of a sleeve loose thereon, means to turn the sleeve, direct and indirect drives from the sleeve to the spindle, means for shifting each of said drives into and out of operative position, interrupted segments carried by said shifting means, interrupted gears meshing with said segments, and means for turning said gears, whereby one drive is thrown out and the other thrown in. I

3. The combination with a spindle,'of a sleeve loose thereon, means to turn the sleeve, direct and indirect drives from the sleeve to the spindle, means for shifting each of said drives into and out of operative position, interrupted segments carried by said shifting means, interrupted gears meshing with said segments, a stud carryingsaid gears, and means for turning said stud, whereby one drive -is thrown out and the other in by turning saidstud in one direction or the other.

4. The combination with a spindle, of a sleevev loose thereon, means to turn the sleeve, direct and indirect drives from the sleeve to the spindle, shifting devices for each of; said drives,'interrupted segments carried by said means to turn-said gears together,'whereby the lost motion on each segment occurs during the movement of the other segment for first throwing out one drive and then throw ing in the other.

5; The combination with a spindle, of a sleeve loose thereon, means to turn the sleeve,

direct and indirect drives from the sleeve to the spindle, shifting devices for each of said drives, interrupted segments carried by said shifting devices, eachsegment having a series of teeth and a groove, .interrupted on each segment to occur during'the movement of the other segment, whereby one -dri ve 'is thrown out before the other is thrown in.

6. The combination with a spindle, of a sleeve loose thereon, means to turn the sleeve, 5

a gear splined on the sleeve and having a clutch-member a gear fast on the spindle, and having a supplemental clutch member, aback gear meshing with the gear on the sleeve, another back gear mounted to turn with the first back gear and meshing with the gear on the spindle, shifting devices for said clutch carrying gear on the sleeve and for said second back gear, said shifting devices including interrupted segments the swinging of which will' effect the shifting operations, interrupted gears meshing with saidsegments, and means for turning both gears at the same time, said gears 'being arranged in such relative positions that motion is lost on one segment while the other segment is being swung,whereby one shifting device is completely actuated before the other is started.

- mounted thereon, means to turn the sleeve,

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a spindle, a sleeve loosely direct and indirect drives from the sleeve "to the spindle, means for shifting said drives 'into and out of operative position," said means including two sets of toothed members and gears, the toothed member and gear of one set being inoperative while the toothed member and gear of the other set are operr ative, and unitary means for moving the two,

sets of toothed members and gears.

8. In a machine of the character described,

the combination of a spindle, a sleeve loosely mounted thereon, means for turning the sleeve, direct and indirect drives from the sleeve to the spindle, means for shifting said drives alternatively into and out of opera tive position, said means including toothed members and lever connections, .231 a single hand operated device for moving, said toothed members and lever connections to eflect operative connection between one of said drives and the spindle only after the operative connection between the otherdr'ive and s indle has been interrupted.

9. he combination with a driving shaft, of a spindle, a sleeve on said spindle, an intermediate shaft, means for driving said sleeve at different speeds through the intermediate shaft, another shaft arranged in line with the driving shaft, and means for driving the spindle from the sleeve through said last mentioned shaft. 1

10. The combination with a driving shaft, of cluster gears spline'd thereon and having a clutch member, a separate gear loose on said driving shaft and having a supplemental clutchmember, a second shaft, gears thereon adapted to selectively mesh with the cluster gears on the driving shaft, another gear on said second shaft constantly in mesh with the loose gear on the driving shaft, and means for shifting said cluster gears for bringing them into mesh with the corresponding gears on the second shaft or for bringing the clutch member on the cluster gears into operative engagement with the clutch member on the loose gear..

11. The combination with a driving shaft, of cluster gears, splined thereon, a driven shaft having gears adapted to selectively mesh with said cluster gears, a slide movable in a line parallel to the axis of the driving shaft, said slide having means to operatively engage the cluster gears, and a rack, an actuating stud arranged transversely of the slidg, and a pinion on the stud in mesh with the rack on the slide, for shifting said cluster gears.

In testimony whereof we have signed our i names to this specification in the presence of two attesting witnesses.

RICHARD K. LEBLDND. WM. F. GROENE.

Witnesses: GRACE A. PUGH,

IRA INGERsoLL. 

